The Christmas Jigsaw Murders: The new deliciously dark Christmas cracker from the bestselling author of Murder on the Christmas Express
£12.20£14.20 (-14%)
***GIVE THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS EARLY WITH THIS DELICIOUSLY DARK CHRISTMAS MYSTERY FOR FANS OF CLEVER, PUZZLING CRIME. THE PERFECT STOCKING FILLER***
THIS CHRISTMAS, A KILLER TAKES FAMILY GAMES TO A MURDEROUS NEW LEVEL.
On 19th of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner and Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan finds a hand-delivered present on her doorstep. Unwrapping it, she finds a jigsaw box and, inside, six jigsaw pieces. When fitted together, the pieces show part of a crime scene – blood-spattered black and white tiles and part of an outlined body. Included in the parcel is a message: ‘Four, maybe more, people will be dead by midnight on Christmas Eve, unless you can put all the pieces together and stop me.’ It’s signed, Rest In Pieces.
Edie contacts her nephew, DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan, and together they work to solve the clues. But when a man is found near death with a jigsaw piece in his hand, Sean fears that Edie might be in danger and shuts her out of the investigation. As the body count rises, however, Edie knows that only she has the knowledge to put together the killer’s murderous puzzle.
Only by fitting all the pieces together will Edie be able to stop a killer – and finally lay her past to rest.
Praise for Alexandra Benedict’s Christmas mysteries:
‘The perfect gift for quizzers and mystery addicts . . .’ Val McDermid
‘Whatever you unwrap for Christmas, you had better hope it’s this book This is 21st-century cosy Christmas crime that doesn’t shy away from the darkness’ Janice Hallett
‘A thrilling journey from start to finish. Highly recommended’ Elly Griffiths
‘It’s wonderful! A page-turning homage to the Golden Age, with a dash of Poirot and a dark, modern heart’ S J Bennett
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Additional information
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster UK (9 Nov. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 352 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1398525375 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1398525375 |
| Dimensions | 15.3 x 2.5 x 23.4 cm |
by Nic
This book is a cozy murder story that i really enjoyed and it has extra puzzles to tax your brain too!!
So, the story revolves around an eighty year old lady called Edie. Events that happened in her past have turned her into a recluse who doesn’t tolerate people now. She avoids the neighbours, dislikes her adopted son’s husband but she does have one friend who is her next door neighbour. She apparently went round to Edie’s house with food and alcohol when she moved in, as a ploy to make a friend and it worked!.
One morning she receives a strange package that was delivered by an anonymous stranger. Inside are some jigsaw pieces with parts of a murder scene but she doesn’t have all the pieces. She must guess where this is or who it is in order to save their life. She tells Sean, her detective inspector son, then the first victim appears. So it goes on…..
I failed miserably at finding the killer or even solving the puzzles and anagrams!! For reference, the answers are in the back of the book!!!. Yes, I cheated!!!.
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for the chance to read this arc copy via Netgalley.’
#Netgalley, #simonandschuster, #a.k.benedict.
by Biggles Bear
First book I have read by this author and certainly won’t be the last! Loved the main character Edie and her friend Riga chemistry was wonderful. in fact all the characters were really good and the plot was really enjoyable . Wonderful Christmas mystery.I hope the author writes another book with these characters I would certainly buy it ????????
by sevenpin
Once again, Alexandra Benedict offers a entertaining twisted festive murder mystery in the style of the classic golden age of crime, giving the reader the challenging possibility of getting involved too! Edie O’ Sullivan might be an elderly woman in her 80s but she is as bright as a button, obsessed with puzzles and cryptic crosswords in which she excels, even dipping her toes into compiling crosswords too. However, when it comes to Christmas, she does not want to know, it is not for her, wanting it all to over as soon as possible, the roots of which all lie in her past, a personal history which comes to be slowly revealed in this compelling mystery.
It is December, Edie is a loner, reclusive, who receives a strange parcel which just might provide her with her greatest challenge, to identify a killer. In the parcel is a chilling message and part of a jigsaw puzzle she is expected to solve, to which there is a horrifying urgency, if she fails, four murders will occur by Christmas Eve. She lets a relative know what has happened, a young police officer, DI Sean Brand-O’Sullivan, who unlike her, adores the Christmas season. The two of them are great characters with a fabulous relationship, working together to get to bottom of who is behind this in a narrative that concludes with a thrilling finale.
This is appealing Christmas crime that will appeal to fans of the author and those looking for engaging seasonal intrigue in which they can take part. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
by Butterflylady
Cruciverbalist and Christmas hater Edie O’Sullivan receives a package containing jigsaw pieces and a cryptic message alluding to a murder which is soon to be committed. The bodies mount up and the jigsaw puzzle grows. Can Edie solve the mystery before the killer strikes again?
This is a fun, quirky and very different Christmas story featuring some zany characters. It’s quite a clever little mystery with a few puzzles for the reader to solve, too. I enjoyed joining Edie on her sleuthing journey where she analyses the clues and draws her own conclusions. Lighthearted and humorous with dark overtones, it’s well plotted and written in an easy and fast flowing style. I did try to work out who was behind all the shenanigans but failed miserably. My little grey cells and powers of deduction were not up to this one! ???? It was an enigma. An entertaining and brain teaser of a read, it had me gripped throughout and kept my attention until the end. ????????
by Ashrae
I quite enjoyed this author’s previous Christmas Murder books – The Christmas Murder Game, and Murder on the Christmas Express – so I was quite excited to get my hands on this, her latest offering.
Now, as with her previous books, as well as the main story being told, at the beginning of the book, the author explains that she has also set out some extra games for the reader to play along the way. Now, this might appeal to some but I find that stuff distracting and competing would just take me out of the story so I passed on that invitation.
So… it is early December and well respected and renowned puzzle/crossword setter Edie O’Sullivan finds a strange package on her doorstep. Inside is a 6 piece jigsaw puzzle and a message from someone informing her that there will be four murders before Christmas unless she can figure it all out and stop them. On looking at the pieces she is shocked to recognise a watch, the same watch that has been handed down in her family, now residing on the wrist of her nephew (slash surrogate son) Sean.
And so begins a convoluted, interconnected tale of murder and intrigue, investigated separately and together by both Edie and Sean. Outside of which, the both also have their own issues to contend with.
On the whole I did enjoy this book. But I do have a major niggle which I will try and explain without giving anything away. OK.. So… the author did this thing that, to me, authors only do for a specific reason which, has a 100% hit rate on giving a major clue about the killer to me as a reader. Every time. Without fail. I lost count of the number of times when an author has employed this tactic and I have narrowed the suspect field down considerably from the off. If you know, you know. If you don’t understand this, just pass it on by…
Apart from that, I did enjoy the book. I always seem to get drawn to an amateur armchair detective of the older female persuasion. They do tickle me with the way they do things. Playing the little old lady card and all that. I even enjoyed her forays into anagrams of many things along the way.
And the crime and reasons for which, along with the eventual unmasking of the perpetrator all went swimmingly, even with the aforementioned early narrowing down.
All in all, a good solid read that I do recommend. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.